Hmmm. Are you saying that this solution hasn't been mentioned before? That seems odd since it's such a simple idea. I figured, the idea is so simple, the problem has to be in some type of massive ordeal in the implementation. I searched the forums to see if it had been posted before, but after 4-5 pages I got tired of looking and just decided to ask
A plus side to the increased pulse/recast times would be that you could (if you chose to) reset all the values to their default (whatever that would be) and rely on the player to improve their own abilities. Also, I think it would open up a lot of options for character development. Do you want your pally to swing super fast, or to have a healing aura that eliminates the need for health potions? If you want melee, get attack speed gear. If you want chants, get spell casting gear.
This brings up another question that I've had recently. How exactly does "Increased Attack Speed" work? I would assume it would be something like:
Final Swing Speed=(Weapon Delay*(1-(Quickness-60)/500)*(1-(Haste Buffs+Increased Attack Speed)
That is, to the best of my knowledge, a slightly modified version of what was on "live" way back in the day when I used to play it. Quickness was capped at an effective value of 250, and the final swing speed was capped at 1.5. Here on D2Sotrm, I have no idea of the caps or the equations used to reach the values. I think Dual Wield (and Celtic Duel) had a percentage chance to swing both weapons based on your modified spec in the line, but the delay was based on the average speed of the two weapons. Again, I'm not sure if it works that way here or not.
But, using the equation above, I don't think I get consistant results in-game. When you swing your starting weapon at 2.8 delay and then you get your first item that gives a 10% increase to attack speed, it SEEMS like you are swinging it much faster than a 2.2 delay. But sometimes perceptions are off, especially with me
So, I guess I'm just wondering how swing speed (and cast rate) are actually calculated for D2Storm.